1. Field of the Invention:
This invention relates to a locking device for an oven door and, more specifically, to such a locking device that employs a plurality of contact pressure elements dispersed around a peripheral sealing edge portion of the oven door to produce a sealing force between the sealing edge portion and the door frame.
2. Description of the Prior Art:
A number of prior art patents disclose coke oven door configurations which include metal or ceramic plugs installed at the interior side of the coke oven door. Such prior art patents include German Patent No. 732,547; German Patent No. 913,764; U.S. Pat. No. 2,993,845; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,198,274.
Additional prior art patents disclose door configurations for coke ovens which include internal shielding intended to primarily protect the door by maintaining the oven charge in a location separated from the door and by shielding the door from radiant heat. Such patents include German Patent No. 186,934; German Patent No. DE 31 05 703 Al; German Patent No. DE 31 05 726 Al; U.S. Pat. No. 4,086,145; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,414,072.
Additional prior art patents in the coke oven field disclose specific configurations for locking the coke oven door in a closed position to provide proper sealing and to prevent undesired heat loss. Such patents include U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,683,032 and 4,740,271.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,948,397; 4,126,520; 4,292,137; and 4,384,652 disclose coke oven door lifting mechanisms which are employed to install and extract coke oven doors from coke oven chamber openings.
While the various prior art patents mentioned hereinabove are characterized as being primarily directed to one major feature of a particular coke oven configuration, it should be kept in mind that other features of the configurations disclosed therein may be pertinent in other areas of the coke oven art. For example, while one patent may be primarily directed to the locking mechanism for a coke oven door, the same prior art patent may disclose additional information regarding the door structure or internal shielding. Accordingly, the prior art patents discussed hereinabove are incorporated by reference as if they were included in their entirety herein.